Messi beats Ronaldo to new free kick record as Inter Miami scores 7 against CF Montréal

• Lionel Messi scored two direct free-kicks in Inter Miami’s 7-1 win over CF Montréal.

• It was the fourth time Messi has scored twice from free-kicks in the same match.

• The feat had previously been achieved three times by Messi with Barcelona, not Argentina.

Lionel Messi has once again underlined his status as one of football’s greatest free-kick specialists after scoring two direct free-kick goals in the same match for Inter Miami in their 7-1 victory over CF Montréal.

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The 39-year-old scored four goals and provided an assist as Inter Miami recorded the biggest win in the club’s history on Saturday, August 29, 2026. Two of his four goals came from free-kicks.

The performance also marked Messi’s 4th career game with two direct free-kick goals. Messi has now achieved the remarkable feat of scoring two direct free-kicks in one match four times in his senior career, three times with Barcelona and once with Inter Miami.

According to statistics from the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), Saturday’s performance was Messi’s fourth time recording such a milestone, following three occasions with Barcelona.

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Messi first scored twice from direct free-kicks in the same game against Sevilla in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup, when Barcelona won 5-4. He found the net in the 7th and 16th minutes.

Three years later, he repeated the feat against Espanyol in a 4-0 La Liga victory, scoring two free-kicks. Messi did it for a third time against Celta Vigo in November 2019, scoring two free-kicks as part of a hat-trick in Barcelona’s 4-1 win. 

Almost seven years after his last two-free-kick game, Messi produced another set-piece masterclass against Montréal. Inter Miami took the lead before Montréal equalised, but Messi restored the advantage in the 40th minute with a free-kick from the right side.

He then scored again in the second half before completing his four-goal haul later in the game. The result ended a five-match winless run for Inter Miami, while Messi recorded his first four-goal performance in MLS.

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The recent performance also moved Messi further up the all-time free-kick scoring charts. His two goals against Montréal took his career total to 74 direct free-kick goals.